Geek plus Nerd equals Love
by MaBre85
Summary: Like every teenager, Max Caulfield has some problems. One of these problems is her feud with Brooke Scott, and she plans to solve it once and for all, with all consequences that'll come with it.


**Author's Notes:  
**

 **Had this idea for this One-Shot for some time now and needed to take it off my mind. Have fun!**

* * *

 **Geek plus Nerd equals Love**

Max Caulfield, 18 years old, student at Blackwell Academy and a very talented photographer, has a problem. Actually, she has a buttload of problems.

There is school itself. It's hard for her to stay focused during classes, resulting in mediocre grades as well as trouble with teachers and homework. But she's very good at photography and her way to try to be friends with everybody always saved her – as Chloe would call it – bony white ass.

Then there is Victoria Chase and her bunch of ass-kissers, the Vortex Club. The main achievements of this 'privileged' club are: having parties, getting drunk or getting high or both, fucking and bullying everyone else who's not a member; especially poor, shy hipster girls with social anxiety issues. Max tries to avoid them as much as possible, but since the three über-bitches of Blackwell are sleeping at the same floor as she is, avoiding contact is near to impossible.

The next point on her shitty list of problems is her sexuality. Max always knew that when it comes to her sexual interests she wasn't what society and the media would call 'normal'. She never was interested in sex or having a relationship, until a few weeks ago. Back then, she had just moved back from Seattle to Arcadia Bay. She'd planned to contact her old best friend from back in the old days, Chloe Price. Well, she did, but only to find out that she'd already finished school and was about to move to L.A. with her new best friend Rachel Amber, leaving them only a week to catch up. Of course, Chloe was really pissed as Max suddenly showed up after 5 years of complete absence, but after some complains, a few apologies and the help of Rachel, Max and Chloe were back in action…at least for a few days.

To celebrate this reunion, the three girls met at an old junkyard, which Chloe referred to as 'American Rust', and while Max stuck to some softdrinks, Chloe and Rachel drank vodka and smoked weed like crazy. At a certain point the two stoners got mushy, then danced and finally kissed each other, making Max's jaw drop to the ground and she blushed like she'd never been blushing before. In the end, the topic about her love life came up. An hour of talking and a dared kiss with Chloe later, all three were pretty sure that Max was into girls. Maybe not a fulltime lesbian but close enough.

After Chloe and Rachel left Arcadia Bay, Max was alone again and needed to make new friends. Thankfully, there are some people at Blackwell who are not being assholes. Kate Marsh, for example. A kind, sweet and very tolerant girl, despite the fact that she's a conservative Christian. She was Max's first crush, because somehow the talk with Chloe and Rachel must've triggered something inside of her. Of course, Max tried to do some recon, but, since she had no experience with such things, she acted very clumsy, so that Kate instantly asked her if she was flirting with her. The following silence and blushing said more than a thousand words and Max feared that she was about to lose another friend, but instead Kate just giggled, blushing herself, and simply told her that she wasn't into girls, but accepted that Max was. And this happened even before school had started.

The next nice person at Blackwell and also Max's friend is Warren Graham. He could be called 'King of the nerds'. Max liked him from the first time they met, but only in a platonically way. But sadly, Warren meant business. He hit on the brunette girl whenever there was a chance, which leads to Max's next big problem: Brooke Scott.

If Warren is the 'King of the nerds', Brooke is definitely the queen. She's a tech-freak, very smart and into sci-fi-stuff, but also a loner and very bitchy if someone pisses her off. Max met her on her first day at Blackwell during classes. They found each other sympathetic immediately, talked a lot, had lunch at the cafeteria and even spent the evening together, watching Brooke's favorite Star Wars movie. Bottom-line, they had fun and Max found her second big crush.

But it all went south when Max met Warren the next day, and from the first moment Brooke saw them together, she changed from friend to foe, giving Max the cold shoulder. From this day she never saw her smile again. Every time Max tried to talk with her, Brooke either ignored her or gave her some really mean or bitchy comments. It hurt the brunette girl every time, because she never knew why Brooke was doing it; what she could've done wrong. As she asked Kate about this, the Christian girl suggested that Brooke might be into Warren and therefore was jealous of Max.

This all leads to tonight. As soon as she'd talked with Kate, Max knew what she needs to do. And even when Brooke wasn't into girls, she wants her at least as a friend back. So, Max decided to talk with her, alone, and tonight is party-night. This means, everybody will be at the Vortex-Club-Party. Except for Max – because reasons – and Brooke, who never goes to any of these parties.

* * *

Max's heart is racing and her hands are shaking as she's standing in front of Brooke Scott's room door. Her lips are dry and her mind almost blank.

' _Okay Max, keep calm! You can do this! Just knock, tell her the truth and everything's gonna be alright._ '

' _Yeah, right. As if such things are always that simple. Ugh!_ '

She exhales deeply and raises her hand to knock, but hesitates for another moment.

'C'mon, you can do it!'

Closing her eyes, she lets out another deep sigh and knocks at the door. At first, nothing happens, but a few moments later the door opens and an Asian girl stands in front of Max. She has black hair with partially blue and red dyed streaks, and wears a grey hoodie with three lightsabers on it. Instead of her red leggings she now wears some grey sweatpants. Brooke leans herself against the doorframe, arms crossed and her brown eyes gazing at Max through her glasses.

"Can I help you, Max?" Brooke says in a monotone voice.

"Uhm…h-hi Brooke! I…uhm…I need to talk with you."

"Talk with me? Wow, I'm honored that you choose to talk with me instead of hanging out with Warren at the party." is her sarcastic answer.

"This is exactly what we need to talk about. But can we please do it inside?"

Brooke shrugs. "Technically we are already inside, but I understand what you wanna tell me in your simple way." She says, stepping aside to sign Max to come in.

It wasn't the first time that Brooke pointed out rudely that Max's smartness wasn't at the same level as hers. It hurt the brunette girl every time to hear such mean remarks from the girl she's crushing on. At first she hesitates to enter, but mentally kicks her butt and moves inside.

"Wowser!" she mutters as she spins around in order to look at Brooke's nerd lair. There are shelves filled with books, movies and collectibles. Glowing lightsabers on the wall enlighten the room in a colorful light. A laptop on the desk shows Max that Brooke just played 'Star Wars: Knights of the old Republic'.

"Are you here to talk or to stare at my room?" Brooke speaks after she'd closed the door.

"Yeah…right…listen, Brooke, I want us to be friends again."

"We were friends before?" the black-haired girl says.

And again, her comment leaves a sting in Max's heart. It hurts, but instead of making her sad, it only fuels her anger.

'Dammit, why is she always so bitchy and mean when something's not going her way? Gosh, if I wouldn't crush on her like crazy, I'd already kicked her butt for that comment. But I should definitely shoot back.'

"Yes we were friends, Brooke. Or don't you remember our first day at Blackwell?" Max almost yells at her with wet eyes. "Why did you break our friendship anyway? Because of Warren? Because you're jealous of me hanging out with him?"

Brooke stays silent, looking at the floor. For the first time she lacked some words. No sarcastic comment. No patronizing speech.

' _Okay, calm down Max, you're not here to rage on her. But it seems like I hit a nerve there._ '

Max reaches out for Brooke's arm and touches it softly, making the black-haired girl to look at her again. "Brooke, I never wanted this, okay? If you have a crush on Warren, then go ahead, he's all yours. I'm not interested in him; never was and never will be. We're just friends, nothing more."

But the nerdy girl scoffs. "And have you already told Warren that you two are 'just friends'?"

"Uhm…n-no…" is everything Max could answer.

' _I never dared to tell him, because I feared that I might break his heart and jeopardize our friendship. Maybe this was wrong._ '

"See! Believe me, he's gonna hit on you until you give in and I don't wanna be around when this happens." She says with another scoff, her expression darkening.

' _She's got a point there. Well, seems like it's time to tell her the whole truth. Don't chicken out now, Max! Worst case: she doesn't want anything to do with me anymore, and that would be the same status we're in right now._ '

' _But what if she tells other people?_ '

' _What is more important to you, her friendship or staying inside the closet? Sonner or later someone else will find out._ '

"I won't give in to him, because…" Max tells her sternly, now averting her gaze. "Brooke, I-I'm not into him or any other guy. I'm…" She exhales deeply. "Okay, here it is: I'm into girls."

The brunette girls now glances at the other girl from the corner of her eyes, giving her a wry smile and sees that Brooke looks at her, one eyebrow raised; her expression unreadable. Good sign, bad sign? Max doesn't know. Brooke still hasn't said one word and it makes Max absolutely nervous.

"I-if this freaks you out and y-you don't wanna hang out with me anymore, then…then I'd accept it." Max continues with a trembling voice, fearing the answer.

Brooke lets out a deep sigh and looks at her feet again. "Max, wh-what if I never was jealous of you, but of Warren?" she mutters.

Max's eyes widen as the meaning of these words seep into her mind. But she has to make sure that understood them right. "What do you mean?"

Now Brooke's brown eyes are fixed on Max again, and her voice is soft and full of emotion as she starts to explain. "Max, I never was into Warren, I…I'm into you."

'Wowser, I'd never imagined that Brooke could be that emotional, and I'll be damned, she actually has a crush on me! Okay, just play it cool and…'

'What?! Play it cool? I'd rather love to jump at her right now and scream my happiness out loud! Well, time for another confession.'

It takes Max some time to process everything, before she licks her lips again. "Well…uhm…actually, I'm kinda into you too."

Both girls now look at each other for some time, not knowing what to say. Max coughs and breaks the awkward silence. "So…uh…what are we gonna do now?"

Again, Brooke just shrugs. "Well, it's a party-night and the code indicates that we should've sex right now." She says nonchalantly.

Max almost chokes on her spit and coughs heavily. "Wh-what?!"

At first, a wry smile forms on Brooke's lips which grows into a full grin, followed by some snickering. "Chill Max, it was just a joke." she tells Max, who just stares at her with her mouth agape. "Are you okay?" the Asian girl adds with some concern.

' _Oh my dog, it's been so long since I saw her smile, let alone joking. Gosh, she's so cute!_ '

Max doesn't care to respond; she just bridges the gap between them and presses her lips onto Brooke's. At first, they just stand there, both totally overwhelmed by the situation, but after a few moments they wrap their arms around each other. Max around Brooke's neck and Brooke around Max's hip.

Both girls stay like this for a while, reluctant to break the contact. Max has closed her eyes and enjoys the feeling of Brooke's soft lips; her warm breath on her face; the closeness and warmth of her body. Everything around them seems unimportant.

As they finally break the kiss, they both keep their arms around each other, entangled in a tight hug.

"Brooke?" Max speaks softly.

"Mh-hm?"

"Have you everything planed for tonight?"

"Nope, just sitting all alone in my room, playing KOTOR."

"How about a movie night?"

"Sounds good." Brooke says, breaking the hug. "But this time you chose the movie."

"Sure! How about…uhm…'Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within'? Got it on DVD, But I'd understand if you don't wanna watch it." Max speaks, remembering that Chloe didn't like that film.

Brooke looks at Max with big eyes. "What, are you kidding? This movie was a milestone in CGI and motion capturing. I love it! You have a good taste, Max!"

"Apparently." the brunette girl answers with a smile, giving Brooke another kiss. "But not only when it comes to movies." she giggles with a wink, making Brooke blushing even more. "How about I'll get the DVD and you order a pizza?"

"Sounds like a plan."

* * *

After the pizza was delivered, both girls cuddle onto Brooke's sofa, start to watch the movie and dig in, giving each other soft kisses now and then.

"I've an idea for a photo-project that will require your expertise." Max suddenly says, grabbing Brooke's hand and squeezes it softly.

The Asian girl looks at Max for some time; her eyes are full of doubts. "How could I help you with photography? I'm just a bitchy science nerd, no artist."

"Y'know, sometimes an artist needs help from a non-artist. For example, to fly a drone for making some shots from a bird's-eye view." Max now gives Brooke another, but more intensive kiss. "And don't you ever sell yourself too short, 'cause you're much better than you think. You're the best!"

Suddenly a tear flows down Brooke's cheek as she hears the freckled girl's words. "Th-thanks Max! You're the first person who ever told me this."

Max embraces her into another tight hug. "You're welcome! But why hasn't anybody told you this before? I mean, you are amazing and smart. That's a fact."

Brooke breaks the hug and gazes at Max with sad eyes. "What should I say? My parents were everywhere around the globe but at home. We moved so often that I don't even remember where I was born. I never had the possibility to make some real friends who could've supported me. From Elementary school on I was the best in class and therefore nobody expected anything else. Whenever I achieved something great it was always just a plain 'well done' here or a 'that's our Brooke' there. No 'you did great' or a 'wow', not even a hug. You're the first person who told me that I'm amazing." She sniffs and another tear rolls down her cheek. "Max, I'm so sorry that I was so mean to you. I behaved like an asshole and…"

Max interrupts her with another tight hug, followed by some kisses. "I've already forgiven you! And I'm sorry that your parents treat you that badly."

"I would be glad if they would treat me at all. I'll bet that they won't give a damn that I have a girlfriend now." the Asian girl says with a wry smile.

"Brooke, it doesn't matter what your parents say or not. We are together now and that counts." Max squeezes her hand again. "And I'll promise you that you'll be my number one priority!"

The movie still plays in the background, but Max and Brooke don't watch it anymore. They just enjoy each other's company; the closeness; the happiness that they both found each other.


End file.
